Shiki no Uta
by Aiddon Raziel Valentine
Summary: The rain is no longer so bad. At the end of a year, two parties come to realize. IchiOri


Liner notes:Jeez, the last few months have been nuts with writing, watching a crapload of anime and going to Acen in May. I think I might regret ever having cosplayed Byakuya there but did I ever become famous. I'm glad I'm not doing him anymore because my hair grew too long so now I can switch over to doing the Visored Rose. 

Well, now I've come to the fourth and final in the "Lyrics" series. This won't be the last BLEACH story I'm doing in this continuity (that's the next one,which will be around thirteen chapters).

This one deals with festival fireworks. I'm going with Tanabata on this one, though I'm sure I'm not doing the exact traditions. I'll talk about this and a festival Ichigo's connected to later. Let's rock.

XXXXX

Ichigo remembered the past year perfectly well, which was odd considering he barely remembered the twenty-odd years before it. He'd occasionally recall some battle or perhaps running like hell from Kenpachi, but not everything day for day, hour for hour.

However, he remembered everything from the past year. He remembered having to take his father to the Soul Society and even having to kick him for nearly hugging Orihime. He remembered when Kenpachi had run him ragged from a mad-dash over half the Seireitei a month ago. He even remembered how many times Unohana had chided him over being a thick-headed fool (which was about ten).

Yes, he actually remembered a year for the first time in decades. He wasn't as though he got younger or wiser. It was just that something else important to him happened on every day of the year as far as he was concerned.

Yes, as old-fashioned a notion as it was, he actually felt like he'd been reborn over the past year. And to think the cause of it all was a single woman who came into his life. Back in his youth he would have considered such a thought to be a joke, but now he realized it was very real.

The shouji opened, awakening him from his meditations (and loads of paperwork). Ichigo allowed the person a glance, seeing that it was Kiyone as always.

"Captain, you really ought to take a break from that." she said.

"Hey, it's not like anyone else is gonna do it if I don't."

"Still, Inoue-san will be angry if you're late."

"Eh?"

Moving his eyes from the files he had been reviewing, signing, stamping, and such, he saw that the clock was about to hit four o'clock. He checked his memory for something that was going to happen that night and then remembered that there were fireworks tonight. Ichigo shook his head and proceeded to stack his paperwork.

"When does it start?" he asked Kiyone.

"Well, the festival started this morning, but the fireworks aren't until eight."

"Better go get Orihime then."

Kiyone smirked as her captain left his office, his frown less prominent. Yes, Inoue-san did have him around her little finger without much difficulty. God, an entire year had passed since Inoue dragged him in passed out. He had changed, if ever so little.

XXXXX

"Agh, darn it." Orihime pouted once again at her attempts to tie her robe.

"Orihime…"

"I can get it, Rangiku-san."

Orihime had been standing in front of a mirror, trying to get into her yukata ever since she got off her duties an hour ago. However, Orihime still hadn't quite got the hang of dressing in old-fashioned robe even if she could dress in hakama and haori easily.

Rangiku propped her head against her hand as she looked at the younger woman struggling with dressing herself. She chuckled slightly as Orihime pouted over her inability to tie the obi.

"I'm coming in whether you like it or not." Ichigo made a rude entrance as Orihime was still having troubles with her yukata.

"Yah!"

As Orihime squeaked, Rangiku chuckled and Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Orihime blushed and attempted to hide her failed tying of her obi, though Ichigo could still see it in the mirror. Sighing, he stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

Orihime would argue with most others, though she ceased with Ichigo like he did with her. Ichigo got behind Orihime and began affixing the belt onto her figure. However, this did make Rangiku wonder how Ichigo was so good at putting women's clothes on.

"And there we go." Ichigo finished, tying the obi snugly.

"How are you so good at doing that?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow.

"I do have two little sisters ya know. They were always fussing over their robes and they didn't trust Pop to do it."

Rangiku chuckled and adjusted the one outfit in which a large amount of her cleavage didn't show. Not surprisingly, she also grabbed a sake' jug that had been setting on a table.

"Want some?" she offered the jug to Ichigo.

"Nah, plus Orihime has the tolerance of a bird."

"Hee-hee, I remember being really playful that night!" Orihime giggled like a young girl.

"You nearly knocked me out trying to reenact some movie." Ichigo sweat dropped at the memory.

Rangiku laughed at the mental image of Orihime doing some karate moves as Ichigo attempted to subdue her. She wiped a tear from laughing out of her eye and sighed.

"Well, I bet you two have moments more interesting than that." she implied.

"Even if we do, they're none of your business."

"Such a bore at times, Kurosaki-taichou." Rangiku turned on her heel to leave as Ichigo fumed and Orihime giggled.

XXXXX

"Dammit…"

"That's the third time."

"Crap!"

"Fourth."

"Friggin' hell, this damn thing is rigged!"

Issou sighed as Setsu's attempts to hit a target in a dart game were proving futile. She had done over ten games and still she didn't manage to even come close. Issou sighed, smoke coming from the pipe between his teeth.

"How did you manage to get through kidou class again?" he asked, almost in a joking manner.

"You try it!"

Setsu promptly shoved the darts in front of Issou's face, nearly jabbing his cheek with one. He sighed and fiddled with a dart. Acting reflexively, he proceeded to throw the first one over his shoulder without any sort of thought to it.

"Winner!" the vendor announced, causing Setsu to fume rather hotly.

"Well, what do you want?" Issou smirked.

Embarrassed as she was, Setsu pointed to the black leather cowboy hat hanging on a hook in the stand. The vendor gave it to her and she proceeded to put the thing on top of her cobalt locks.

"I swear, what sort of Shinigami wears something like that?" Issou took hold of a walking stick about as long as he was tall.

"Hey, it's a pain in the ass to find these and it's not like I can walk into a store in the living world and steal one."

"I thought that's what you did with your gloves and boots."

"Shaddup! Anyway, I'm starving, where's the nearest soba stand?"

Issou rolled his eyes at Setsu scouting around the stands for anything resembling food. The woman had an appetite like a shark when she was hungry. Issou knocked the ash out of his pipe and tucked it into a pocket inside his coat.

"I'm more in the mood for sushi." Issou replied dully.

"Yech! How can you stand that gross stuff? It's raw fish."

"It's not as though eating noodles every day is healthy. Besides, you've eaten takoyaki before."

"Hey, that's fried pretty well. At least I can't tell it's a bottom-feeder."

Issou sighed again and leaned on his walking stick. Setsu had a tendency to be rather adamant when it came to opinions.

Issou diverted his attention away from his partner for his moment and just examined all the booths the Shinigami had constructed for the festival. General Kyouraku was more than likely at the sake booth getting himself drunk with a load of other Shinigami, Captain Zaraki included. Captain Ise and Captain Matsumoto he had seen enjoying sweets at a teahouse and Captain Hitsugaya was being chided by Vice-Captain Hinamori to buy her a rather expensive watermelon.

Issou chuckled in his mind of the thought of the Captains and seated members relaxing for once. Then again, most of the officers were rather odd at times, especially those of his division. It was usually Eleventh Division members' (or "graduates" of the division) duty to carry the portable shrine, but Madarame had accidentally snapped one of the handles which caused Vice Captain Iba and him to decide who was going to fix it by a duel. Such behavior could only be found amongst men like that.

Issou fiddled with the braid near his eye as Setsu was still trying to find someplace with food sufficient for her. It was then that Issou felt a reiatsu that had always intrigued him since he met it. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Captain Kurosaki and Fourth Seat Inoue walking together.

"Hmm, what's a good place?" she murmured.

"I don't care that much."

"Hmm."

"Inoue-dono!" Issou raised his voice to alert the woman.

"Oh, Munashii-san!" Inoue waved.

"Eh, the hell are you raising your voice for?" Setsu wondered as she hadn't seen Orihime yet.

The auburn-haired girl and her tangerine-headed partner joined the tall pair who was still trying to find someplace to dine. Issou fiddled with his braid.

"I take it you're enjoying the festival." the effeminate man began.

"Mm-hm, Ichi-kun and I were going to the tea shop for sweets. Wanna come along?"

"Hmm, tea and dango sound nice." the man's head looked to Setsu "What do you think, Setsu-dono?"

"Eh, I guess."

Orihime smiled and Ichigo just remained indifferent about it. Setsu was alright, but that Issou guy still gave him the creeps for some odd reason. It didn't help that those eyes of his were so…bizarre. They were too deep to see anything, but yet they also displayed their owner's feelings blatantly. Those eyes were just…insanely mysterious.

"Is something the matter, Kurosaki-taichou?" Issou asked as though he were ignorant.

"Nah, it's nothing." Like hell it wasn't!

Setsu knew that whenever someone was acting like that around Issou, it was usually about his eyes. She hoped he wouldn't try to make himself blind through physical force again. However, even she had to admit that Issou's eyes were something of a rather…unique and oddly terrifying nature.

Ichigo cast his thoughts about the odd man's eyes aside. He didn't want to upset Orihime over such a small thing. He just followed Setsu as she led them to the tea shop.

XXXXX

Issou was raising an eyebrow already at how much bean paste Orihime had on everything she was eating. She had put it on the dango she was currently eating, the tea she drank, and the chestnut sweets she had yet to try. Such an odd taste she had.

"So, is that what I think it is?" Ichigo asked Issou, referring to the long walking stick.

"Is that what?" Issou took a drink of his green tea.

"Your zanpakutou."

"It is, though I prefer not to wave it around like Madarame-dono and Zaraki-taichou."

Setsu chuckled at the two men. Issou was far from the regular Eleventh Division member. He was far too pretty for one thing and didn't really crave battle. Setsu took a bite out of her mochi and just relaxed in the late afternoon sun.

"So, how did you and Munashii-san get together?" Orihime asked the tomboy suddenly between a mouthful of rice-cake.

"Eh? Whaddya mean?"

"Well…" Orihime swallowed "how'd the two of you meet?"

Setsu put the cup of tea she had down and ran her hand through her short hair.

"Well…I don't really remember how long ago it was, maybe twenty years at the most. I sure as hell remember seeing him half-dead and lying facedown in the road."

"Oh dear, what happened?"

"I hadn't eaten in three days." Issou interrupted, obviously hearing the conversation between the women.

"Thanks for spoiling it." Setsu was annoyed "Anyway, I fed him and he trained me so I could get into the Shinigami Academy. It's nothing that special really"  
"Well, I suppose that's how most lovers meet; coincidental, if that." Orihime went back to eating her sweets.

Ichigo's eyes slid over to Orihime, wondering if she had meant him when talking about that. He sipped the barley tea he had and leaned against Orihime slightly.

"How did you meet?" Issou asked Ichigo.

"Eh?"

"My captain says you and Inoue-san knew each other in the living world, long before you came here. I was just asking."

Ichigo looked at Orihime who was stuffing her face with sweets. First time they met…was it when she had dragged her dying brother into his family's clinic? Or maybe it was when he saw a stunning young woman when he first entered high school. Maybe…maybe it was when he helped her when he became a Shinigami. No, that wasn't it.

"Last year." Ichigo answered

"Odd, I thought you had known each other for about twenty years."

"It's…it's a long story."

Issou just closed his eyes in thought for a moment. He…imagined he might understand what Captain Kurosaki meant. He finished his tea and then left the money for the bill on the table.

"Setsu-dono, let's go." the tall man grabbed his zanpakutou and began walking down the path.

"Oi, wait you damn half-woman!" Setsu chugged her tea and went to catch up to her companion "Icchan!"

Ichigo looked at how the sun was getting rather low. It wouldn't be too long before the fireworks started. Orihime was still eating her sweets and enjoying herself thoroughly. He smirked, also content.

"Do you think he loves her?" Orihime asked for no apparent reason.

"What…kind of question is that?" Ichigo was wondering when Orihime was suddenly interested in the pair.

"She looks at him oddly, like he's far away even when she's right next to him."

"Wouldn't that have to do with her feelings for him?"

"I think he knows, but he's impossible to read for some reason."

Orihime, he'd known her very well for about the past year but she still kept surprising him. Her habits that people considered odd (her diet, daydreams, phrases, etc.) he was used to, but it was when she was very deep out of nowhere is when he was surprised. She could be bizarrely philosophical and extremely mysterious at times. It was odd, but intriguing.

"Well…maybe he just expresses it differently." Ichigo ruffled his hair with his hand.

"Kind of like you?"

Ichigo just felt his face heat at Orihime's response. She smiled at his reactions and finished her tea. Ichigo took his wallet out and left the bill as well as a little extra.

"Rangiku-san said that she got some seats for us early today." Orihime swept her hand through her hair "Come on."

Odd, she was acting rather calm today. Then again, today was a festival of lovers. The thought caused Ichigo to turn rose in the face again. So many things he wasn't used to yet.

XXXXX

"Ugh, why won't they just set them off?" Setsu was whining about the fireworks.

"It's not nightfall yet, Setsu-dono."

"I wanna see some friggin' explosions!"

Setsu, ever the fiery girl, Issou thought. They had been away from the vendors and booths for about five minutes as they walked towards a small, wooded area. Issou despised crowded places and preferred to see things in seclusion. He brushed aside a stray branch and continued onward.

"You're awfully calm." Setsu commented as she followed.

"What mean you?"

"Considering you've been hiding a lot ever since you went to the Academy you don't so much as break a sweat."

"…Your point being?"

"Shouldn't a person aiming to break the law be a little more nervous?"

Issou's expression didn't change despite what Setsu had just said. Anyone listening would have been wondering about the mismatched pair. Issou fiddled with a braid of his hair.

"Well, considering my origins, I believe it's best to be calm even when I'm about to be killed."

"Just the thing a guy like you would say."

The noise at the stands grew louder, indicating some sort of event.

"I guess those idiots finally got the portable shrine fixed." Setsu smirked, thinking about the disagreement Ikkaku and Iba had gotten into earlier.

"The sound that intrigues me is the one coming from the east."

"Eh?"

"Thunder."

XXXXX

Ichigo weaved through the crowd at the hills as he followed Orihime. The setting sun was staining everything red, including the green grass and Orihime's hair.

Shinigami were all over the hills, drinking sake and eating all kinds of food. He could even see the Fourth Division having a picnic and a large group of the Ninth getting drunk (Sentarou being among them, as he jumped on being the Ninth's vice-captain like a rabid dog).

"Oi! Get over here, you two!" Rangiku called from her vantage point on top of a hill.

"We're coming, ya drunk." Ichigo's annoyance at Rangiku hardly changed.

"Hmm, cranky."

Rangiku had been drinking sake for quite some time. She had actually participated in a drinking contest between herself, Zaraki, Shunsui, and quite a few other people. As expected, she had won (though people wondered how she could hold so much liquor). She sipped from the jug she held as Orihime took a seat beside her.

"Fun festival, eh?" Rangiku asked.

"Mm-hm, we're going to catch goldfish, pop balloons, do anko-eating contests"  
"Oi, wait until after the fireworks." Ichigo took a seat behind Orihime to curb her enthusiasm.

"Hopefully Kuukaku-san isn't having troubles."

"Please, if she could fire us into the Seireitei then a little fireworks display shouldn't be a problem."

Then a large rumbling began to roll around. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, curious as to what it was. Perhaps it was a misfire, nothing serious. However, Ichigo then noticed the rather large, black cloud formation coming from the east.

"Is that…?" he thought out loud.

"What is it, Ichi-kun?"

And then the downpour started. One second it was a beautiful, iridescent sunset and then there was a practical flood the next. Everyone went in different directions as the storm started. Just how in blazes did a storm that big come in out of nowhere?

"Dammit!" Ichigo cursed and attempted to cover himself by flinging his arms over his head.

"Darn it, I knew I should've brought an umbrella with how humid it's been." Orihime said as she did the same as Ichigo with her yukata's sleeves.

"C'mon."

Ichigo grabbed Orihime's hand and ran as fast as he could with the woman following him. The rain made it hard to see so he couldn't really see anything that well. Everyone had scattered already, leaving behind their blankets and other things that weren't edible.

Ichigo cursed under his breath at the rain, finding yet another reason to hate the rain. The ground was already getting muddy, caking his boots and Orihime's zori.

"Ichi-kun, over there!"

Orihime yanked hard in the direction Ichigo was opposite in going, dragging him. Finally the drops stopped hitting his head as Orihime had led them under a bridge for shelter. Ichigo patted himself down, his coat thoroughly soaked through.

"Oh dear, my yukata is wet." Orihime wrung out one of her sleeves.

"Guess I shoulda brought an umbrella."

"Oh well, it didn't cost that much and it's only wet."

Ichigo just frowned and went to the edge of the area that the bridge covered. The rain fell in front of Ichigo as he merely stood under the bridge he and Orihime ducked under and watched. God how he hated the rain so much. His coat was soaked and musky, making him rather uncomfortable. It didn't help that the rain just kept coming either.

"Rather hard, neh, Ichi-kun?"

Ichigo felt Orihime press against his back, her warmth flooding onto him. She sighed contentedly, smiling as she did so.

"If I were the rain…" she mumbled.

"What's that?"

"A poem I wrote when I was in junior high, I think."

"How's it go?"

Orihime closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to her days as a young girl. Then the poem came, as though her voice were possessed.

If I were the rain

could I connect with someone's heart?

just as it can connect

the eternally separated earth and sky?

Ichigo raise an eyebrow to the poem, mystified and intrigued by it.

"Odd, where'd you get the idea for that?" he inquired.

"Just a feeling I get when I saw the rain. It was a sinking feeling, until that night"  
"What do you get now?"

"A warm feeling."

XXXXX

"Goddamnit! Why did there have to be such a friggin' downpour?"

Setsu was fuming at the fact that she and Issou were trapped in an old shed waiting for the rain to let up. Issou merely sat on a bench inside, his legs crossed and his pipe coming from his mouth with a wisp of smoke curling upward. He sighed, smoke pouring from between his teeth.

"Rain on Tanabata is quite ill, don't you think?" he said to Setsu.

"Eh? Oh, I guess, yeah."

Issou rose from his seat, standing alongside Setsu and watching the rain splash onto the ground. His right arm draped over Setsu's shoulders and his fingers curled onto her right bicep. It was an odd feeling, Issou's smooth gloves over Setsu's skin.

"Look, if I'm holding you back, then you can just do it by yourself."

"Nonsense, I'm a patient man."

Setsu's head sunk as well as her eyelids in a melancholy manner.

"How long will it take?" she asked.

"For you…five years total. I say so because I refuse to do such dangerous methods for you to learn that."

"God, five years? Are you sure you can wait that long? I mean, you don't even need me to do this."

Setsu was then caught off guard as Issou grabbed her arms firmly and then made her face him. She shied away from his eyes, turning her head.

"Require and need are two very different things." Issou said in a low tone.

"Th-there's no difference at all."

Issou tilted Setsu's head towards his face, his eyes showing their mysterious beauty.

"I need you."

Setsu then responded with a fierce embrace, her arms clamping over Issou's torso like vices. He grinned, ruffling her cobalt hair with a gloved hand.

"Still the same emotional girl from all those years ago."

"God, I'd hate you if I didn't love you so damned much."

XXXXX

Ichigo leaned against a wall under the bridge, observing Orihime as she did the rain. She had a far off look in her eyes, as though her mind was in two places at once. It intrigued Ichigo to see that look.

God, the past year had been so different from any other in his life in Soul Society or in the living world. He remembered the last few years he had spent in the living world. It seemed so boring after everything with Aizen and the Arrancar. He felt that his days were unfulfilled and would continue to be so.

Soul Society had not actually offered anything more. With no war going on anymore, there were no severe tasks like battles anymore. Most of his days were just done with paperwork and training exercises. Zangetsu was often on his back and he had not once used Ban Kai in the two decades he had been in the world of the dead.

And then Orihime came into his life once again. Why did she have such an affect on him? Of course learning about her death at a young age was a shock, but not nearly as much as the arrogance Ichigo had to demand explanation. Who was he to ask of her when he had spent all those years in constant, dull gray? Perhaps it was because…

"A long time ago…" Orihime suddenly said, snapping Ichigo out of his thoughts.

"Enh?"

Orihime grinned and then looked towards the rain clouds in the dark sky.

"As far back as I could remember, I hated the rain passionately. And when I found out what my name meant, I began to hate it even more."

The girl reached out, droplets falling onto her hand.

"I always felt that bad things happened in the rain. Even before I knew what it could symbolize I despised it. I always thought that rain made people sad or lonely. But…"

"Hn?"

Orihime turned to Ichigo, walking towards him.

"Then that night happened and I felt that was all wrong." the girl placed her still wet hand on Ichigo's face "I felt like it bound me to you, it connected us. And I realize that it can be good thing at times."

Ichigo took hold of the hand that had been placed on his face and looked at it, not wanting to meet Orihime's eyes for some reason. He observed the droplets sliding across and down Orihime's palm and dropping to the ground. Such a delicate, beautiful hand not stained by any sort of conflict to this day.

That beauty…that innocence…did he deserve such a thing? This woman who had given him her body, her heart, her…very being, did he earn this? What had he done to earn it?

"Ichi-kun?"

Ichigo drew her closer to his body, pressing onto her fully. He hadn't let go of her hand either and intertwined his fingers with her own. Ichigo's head settled by Orihime's neck, his face tickled by her auburn hair.

"For a long time…I wondered what I could find here. I searched, waited, and meditated, but nothing came."

"Ichigo?"

"There was no rain, but endless clouds. But then…I found you…and…and..."

That's all Orihime needed to hear. She smiled, embracing Ichigo with her free arm. The two of them stood, their warmth spreading to one another. Ichigo's mouth moved, though his words were only heard by the woman he held. Again Orihime smiled, sighing.

"Thank you, Ichigo." she said.

XXXXX

"Hmm, it stopped."

Issou held out his hand and looked at the sleeping Setsu sitting on the ground against a wall. His mouth angled, creating a left-sided smirk. Sighing, he picked up Setsu and carried her like a bride. She snored, cuddling against Issou like a child. Issou smirked again, enjoying how despite how loud and brash she could be that she was now merely another sleeping girl. Putting his sword on his back, he proceeded to walk home.

The cuffs of Issou's pants were soaked now because of the water he had disturbed while walking. He breathed, enjoying the aftereffects the storm had brought. The air was cleaner and cooler and he enjoyed the earthen scent the rain had brought up.

The sky was always the most beautiful though. After the clouds had gone, the sky always seemed as glorious as a jewel. The stars came out in greater number than usual and the moon was as bright as Issou's eyes.

"Munashii-san!"

The sudden greeting broke what would have been Issou staring at the moon. He turned his neck and found Inoue waving to him with Kurosaki beside her.

"Ah, were you waiting out the storm as well?" Issou asked, his eyes hidden by his bangs.

"Yes, Ichi-kun and I got stuck under a bridge."

Ichigo was unresponsive to Orihime's comment. He looked to Issou's bundle, surprised that the violent tomboy known as Setsu let him carry her. Orihime gazed at the stars, her eyes searching amongst them.

"Hmm, I wonder which one Vega is." she thought out loud.

"Ain't it that one?" Ichigo picked out a random star in the night sky.

Issou smirked at his superior's lack of knowledge about the stars.

"It's that one, the extremely bright one." he commented.

"Ah, the one in the constellation Lyra?" Orihime pointed upward.

"That's it."

The brunette tilted her head while looking at the star, amazed that it wasn't as incredible as she thought it would be.

"She looks kind of lonely." Orihime commented.

"It did rain earlier." Ichigo piped up "Maybe she didn't work hard enough this year."

"A year away from the one she loves…"

Issou's eyes lowered as he saw the look on Ichigo's face as well as Orihime's. Issou didn't know exactly what had happened, but he knew of his former classmate and his superior's relationship. He just looked at the stars as Setsu snuggled further into his shoulder.

"Icchan…" she grumbled in her dreams.

"Tch…"

Ichigo didn't ask or wanted to wonder about what Issou knew that he didn't, but he was sure it couldn't be odder than Orihime and him. He sidled next to Orihime and put an arm over her shoulder.

"I could never see the stars in the city that well." Ichigo rambled like an old man "But by the gods are they gorgeous."

"Yeah, they are pretty." Orihime held Ichigo's hand "I always made up new constellations all the time. What about you, Munashii-san?"

"…I never could enjoy them that much in my youth. I'm from Zaraki, so I could never enjoy them lest I expose myself to the bestial denizens of that place."

Ichigo and Orihime just gave Issou a look at how he could casually, though poetically, say something. However, his eyes acted differently.

"However, after I met Setsu-dono I was able to enjoy them much more. She'd always point them out and compare them to one another. She'd often make stories about them all the time, like some sort of child with far too much energy."

Issou glanced at the sleeping woman cradled in his arms, how she sighed and groaned in her sleep. Ichigo and Orihime were confused at the pair, but could sort of understand the interaction. Ichigo turned to the stars again, Orihime's hand squeezing his tighter.

"Hey, Issou." he asked.

"What is it, Captain?"

"Some day, how about the four of us have tea? Not as Shinigami, but as friends."

"…I'd like that."

XXXXX

The group had parted ways some distance down the road, Orihime and Ichigo heading towards their home and Issou carrying Setsu back to the barracks. Orihime and Ichigo were still holding hands like a couple, which Orihime was enjoying thoroughly.

"He still creeps me out." Ichigo said out of the blue.

"Munashii-san, you mean?"

"Yeah, though I suppose it's not like it's his fault."

"Well, he scares even his superiors at times. Then again, don't you tend to scare Kyouraku-kun and Zaraki-san because of your strength?"

"Well…you're not scared of me, right?"

Orihime giggled, a hand to her mouth.

"Silly, you couldn't scare me if you wanted to."

For Ichigo, that was a thought that comforted him.

XXXXX

Issou was still walking in the maze-like streets of the Seireitei, carrying Setsu. The torches on the streets had mostly gone out, so the only light he had was that of he moon. As late as it was, he took his time.

"Mmmph, how long was I out?" asked a dreary Setsu whose face was in Issou's chest.

"An hour or two. I met Inoue-dono and Kurosaki-taichou on the way back."

"You know you'll be at odds with him if you do what you will."

"I know that."

"But don't you find common ground with him?"

"…Being friends and doing what I have to are not related, so I don't worry about it."

"Weirdo."

Indeed he was.

XXXXX

Liner notes: Hmm, that was decent. The flow wasn't awful, but I've done better. The scene with Orihime and Ichigo was pretty good in my opinion, but I could have worked on Issou more. I'm beginning to think I'm making him and Setsu out to be "Mary-Sue's" (which I hope I'm not). Anyway, this ends the Lyrics series and next up is "Paint it Black" which will be a multi-chapter story with the main focus on Orihime and Ichigo along with Setsu and Issou (don't expect a lot of fluffiness though, as the main focus is not the pairings).

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of people know by now that Orihime is connected to the Tanabata festival via her name. However, Ichigo is actually connected to an even more famous festival via his birthday (July 15th). The festival is called Obon, which is the equivalent to the Day of the Dead in Mexico. The festival is basically where people honor their dead ancestors for four days. Ichigo's birthday is the most important day, in which a feast is set for the celebration. Another interesting note, Tanabata is actually derived from Obon traditions.

And now for the stats on my uber-bishounen, Issou.

Full Name: Munashii Issou (written in katakana, so there's no meaning to his name)  
Height: 186 cm  
Weight: 70 kilo  
Birthday: December 19th  
Blood Type: A  
Eyes: Silver  
Hair: Evergreen  
Birthplace: Unknown, claims to be from Zaraki  
Squad: 11th  
Rank: 4th seat  
Discipline:  
Zanjutsu (main): Says he's a sixth dan  
Hakuda (secondary): 6th dan  
Hohou : 2nd dan  
Kidou: Needs incantations for level 20 spells Zanpakutou:  
Name: Kyoutaiyou (Great Sun)  
Appearance: A shirasaya (sword resembling a walking stick) nodachi  
Shikai: Unknown, only Setsu knows  
Likes:  
Rain  
Pocky (his favorites are mousse chocolate and the limited edition sakura) and Pretz (favorites are roast chicken and shrimp)  
Smoking his pipe  
Dislikes:  
Loud noises  
People bugging him for fights  
Miscellaneous:  
Is mistaken for a woman about nine times out of ten  
His sword has been his long before he came to the Academy  
Setsu is the only one he'll allow to use the –chan honorific with him  
His eyes are the only silver ones in Soul Society. Setsu claims they glow at night sometimes  
Bio: The mysterious and unsettling new recruit from Zaraki (for which Zaraki seems to make him a favorite because of). He and Setsu have a relationship, but the nature of it is unknown. He also seems to be progressing at a rather extreme rate; one which Zaraki claims may be as extreme as Ichigo's. His most prominent features are his beautiful green mane, his effeminate form, and his intense, bizarre silver eyes.  
Theme Song: "Rape Me" by Nirvana. Recorded in "In Utero"


End file.
